Automatic bag feeder to conveyer



June 13, 1950' KELLER 2,511,714

AUTOMATIC BAG FEEDER TO CONVEYERS Filed May 26, 1948 4 Shets-Sheet 1""HHHII IIIHI lllllW'" INVENTOR. GREGORY H. KELLER June 13, 1950 KELLER2,511,714

AUTOMATIC BAG FEEDER TO CONVEYERS Filed May 26, 1948 v 4 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. GREGORY H.. KELLER BY Q 2 ATTzS June 13, 1950 G, H. KELLEgQ2,511,714

M C BAG FEEDER T0 CONVEYERS INVENTOR. GREGORY H. KELLER BY Y June 13,1950 G. H. KELLER 2,511,714

AUTOMATIC'BAG FEEDER TO CONVEYERS Filed May 26, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet 41NVEN T 0R. GREGORY H. KELLER Patented June 13, 1950 UNIT STATES PATENTOFFICE Gregory H. Keller, Helena, Ark. Application May 2c, 1948,SerialNo. 29,251 9 Claims. (01. 19826) This invention relates tocontinuous belt conveyors, and has for one of its immediate objects theprovision of a conveyor which is particularly well suited for use, as anadjunct to a bag sealing machine, although not restricted in its utilityto any specific application.

Tall bags which have been filled and are to be transported by a beltconveyor to a bag sealing machine must be held in upright posture on thebelt; and in order to prevent the bags tipping over enroute itisnecessary to provide supporting means on the belt, such as individualpockets into which the filled bags can be placed.

In a sense, it would be feasible for the operators who fill the bags orattend the bag-filling machines to place them manually in conveyorpockets; but it has been found to be a serious impedimentqto a bagfillers output capacity to require him to divert'his attention from thebagfilling'operations injorderf properly to plaqe'th bags, aftervfilling on, the conveyor belt. this is especially true where sever'aloperators are placing bags onlthe convcyor belt at differ: ent points.therealon'g, because in those cases each operator,. except,the one,farthest from the sealing machine, would have to exercise caution toavoid placing bags in pockets already occugpied, or attempting to. doso. j

With a view to simplifying to the greatest possible extentthey-operation of placing filled bags. in empty conveyor pockets andthereby in-' creasingeach operators' output, the present in; ventioncontemplatesthe provision of feed hoppers or chutes, one for-eachoperator, into, which i the operators place the bags, as they. are]filled j and it further. contemplates the provision oi mechanism'whichoperates automatically to irelease thebags from, the hopners so thatthey fall only-into empty pocketsfon thefconveyor.

Additional objectsd'and novel features 'oflthe subject ,invention willbe apparent as the en} suing detailed'description 'progressesl 1.'Referring to the. drawings wh'ch accompany this specification; ,1 h i LFigure l is an elevational view Ora belt conveyor in accordance [withthe invention, the'view being brokenintotwo parts the lower of which isafoohtinuatiohofthe right endl of the'upper part, four receivingstationswhereat filled bags are placed upon. the jconveyor being illustrated;

Fig. 2"is an enlarged sectional view taken'at line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. ,3 is a reproduction of a portion'of Fig. 2,-

illustrating the operation of a trap which serves to release the filledbags from one of the hoppers in properly timed relation to the movementof the conveyor belt; 3 Fig. 4 is an enlargedfragmentary sideelevational view, showing one of the receiving-stations and themechanism thereat which functions to operate the trap at proper times,s'o'that-the filled bags fall from the hopper, one at a'time, intopockets provided for their reception on the conveyor belt; I

Fig. 5 is an isometric view of a rocker member forming a part of themechanism which functions to release the bags at the proper instants;Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan'view,'-partly'in section, taken at line6'-5 of Fig. 4;

vFig. '7 is'a view identical with Fig. 6 except that it portrays analternative condition of the mechanism therein shown; and j Fig. 8 is anisometric view of one of the several blocks which are attachedto theconveyor belt and arranged thereon to form pockets for reception offilld'bags'the blocks serving to hold the bags in upright posture.

' In addition to suitable supporting framework, which does not nod to bedescribed in detail, the conveyor includes a continuous belt [0, adriving pulley l2, a guide pulley [4, a tensioning pulley l6, and anumber of idler rollers [8, which latter serve merely to support thelower run of the belt and prevent excessive sagging thereof. There areshown resting on the upperlrun of the belt H1, in Fig. 1, number of bags20 in upright posture. Thesebags'may be assumed to have been put on theconveyor at various stations therealong, which stations are identifiedby reference numerals 22, 23, 24 and 25, respectively, situated atoneside only of the conveyor belt. There maybe any feasible number ofsuch stations, on each side of the belt, depending largely upon thelength of the conveyor and the capacity of the bag sealing machineserved therebyit being here assumed, for purposes of description, thatthe conveyor is employed in conjunction with a bag sealing machine.

The belt I0 is driven in the direction indicated byarrows in Fig. 1, andhas its delivery endpositioned adjacent a sealing machine, shown framentarily and identified by the reference numeral 26. The presentinvention is not concerned with the sealing machine, per se, and, forthat reason, there is no occasion to do more than to indicate itsposition, as has been done in Fig. 1, except to mention that as the bagsare taken from the belt by the sealing machine they travel in ahorizontal path, as clearly indicated.

Because the bags which the subject conveyor is designed to handle aretoo tall and thin to stand erect by Virtue of their own stability,lateral supporting; means. must'. be providedtherefon. To. that endthere are attached to the belt W a large number of blocks 28,conveniently of wood, one of which is shown isometrically in Fig. 8,together with the metal fittingafor attaching the. same to the belt.Each block 28 is of rectangular form, having a sloping edge 28' anchissecured at the bottom to a metal strip 29 whichextends transversely ofthe belt and is provided with countersunk bolt holes 30 to receivebolts. by means of which attachment to the belt is efi'ected.AJmetahplate: 32 is; securedi to. one side. of. the block 28, along thelower edge thereef,.,by means. or woodscrews 3.3.- and 34,. and, the.said. plate.3'2' may! be welded, to: the crossestrip 29= The severalblocks 28-. are. located: on. the belt zig-zag fashionr as clearlydepictedin Figs. 6 and. 7, being so spaced as to form twoparallelseries. of pockets extending. lengthwise of the belt. Thepockets; of. one seriesare identified by the. reference: numerals 36-while. those of. the. other. series areiidentified by the reference.numerals 38.. The blocks form,- conjointly, three; sides. of eachpocket, while. the tourth. sideis formed by a. stationary guide rail4!], 42, placed at either side of thetwaseries, or blocks. These. guiderails. may be strips. of wood, secured to the. framework of theconveyorand. they overliethe. two edge portions; or the upper. run. of thebelt.The pockets are proportionedin conformity with the size of the bags tobehandled, largeenough toreeei-ve: the bags. freely and small. enough toensure that the bags will beheldiuprightm v The. tour stations 2Z2.-,..inc1usive, as well. as suchadditional stations as. may be placed atthe opposite sideoi. the. conveyor, usually are situated adjacent bagfilling machines from which an operator takes the bags, as. they arefilled; and w transfers themone. at a. time to the. conveyor belts I Itis important. that theoperator be. able to devote. his entire attentionto the bag-filhngz op.- eration, without having. to. divert. attention.to

seeing, to it that. thefilled. bags are each placed man. empty pocket.onlthe conveyorr 'll'he task of so doing,, without. mechanical.assistance, would headditionally-complicated and. hampered; whereseveral.- operators. are using; the same. conveyor,

1 because. all. the operators, exceptv one, would; be

obliged to make sure, in ea ch instance,,. that a selectedpocket is an.-emlptyLQneQ. Hvenwhen only one operator is usingthezconveyor there.wouldbe a. material loss of. time involved in placing the bags, in. thepockets, manually; .and'where several operators. are. involved,simultaneously, the loss at time. would. begreatly increased; due. tothe necessity of distinguishing. empty pockets. fromthose-alreadyfillect. I H

By virtue ofthe electro-mechanical'. provisions about to be described,.each. operator has only to-take-each bag, as itis'filled, and place inahopper, paying no attention to the conveyor; and the mechanismautomatically determines when an empty pocket is about to come intoposition to receive a bag, and automatically releases the bag from thehopper at the proper time, so that it falls accurately into the emptypocket.

All the several stations are identical, save for being right and lefthand, when they are disposed on both sides of the conveyor, and it willbe necessary to describe only one of them. Station 22 is the oneselected for description because the sectional views of Figs. 2 and 3are taken immediately adjacent that station, as indicated by theposition of line 2-2 on Fig. 1.

Referring more'especially toEigs. 2- 5,; inclusive, asheetmetalfunnel-like.- hopper to having a vertical chute 46a is suspended bymeans of a. suitable supporting structure so that a, discharge opening.atits. lower, extremity overlies the row of pockets 38; and it is sopositioned, lengethwise of the. conveyor belt, that a pocket will be inposition to receive each bag upon being released from the hopper: Theoperator drops the filled bags, one at. a time, into the open upper endof the hopper, which, as will be seen, is flared at the top, on threesides, so as to. facilitate insertion oi the; bags. The. passagewaythrough the chute portion. litdissoclimensioned as to afford a; fairlyclose sliding fit for the filled bags; thus ensuring that. each bag willbe upright posture when discharged from the chute.

Ainetalplate. 4.5, normally positioned below the hopper dischargeopening, as shown in Figs. 2 and. 4,. functions as a; trap to retaineach bag within the lower end of the chute 44a until anempty conveyorpocket 38 is in position to receive the. same. The plate {5 normall'y'ispositioned as: shown in. Fig. 2, but: is: movable, as indicated bythedouble-headed arrow on that figure to an alternate open. position, asshown in Fig. 3, to release. a. bag 20' resting thereon. Upon beingreleased; the bag. drops. by" gravity, as depicted Fig. 3".

Mounted on the hopper and pivoted at 46' is an: arm 48' which projects"through an opening in the. front. of the hopper and normallyispositioned,.as per Fig. 2, sothat" its lower end'portion will. intercepteach bag as' it descends through the. chute. Arm 4:8 normally is held inthat position. by a. leaf spring. .49 which is resilient enough to.allow the arm 4.8to' swing out of the way under, the weight of asinglefilled bag. A

, contact spring 50 is secured at its upper end to the-arm 48 so as. tobe movable therewith and, has a contact 5|. at its, lower end which, isadapted to. engage a fixedcontact 52 when, the arm 48 is. deflectedunder the weight of a; bag. as per Fig. 3-. The aforementioned contactsare nor mally open,. and; the purpose. thereof is to condition theenergizing circuitof a plunger solenoid", to bedescrfibedlatenwhichcontrols operation of the trap. Were it not for said contacts the trapwould open each time. an empty pocket 38 passed the. station 22,.irrespective of the presence or absence of a. filled hag inthe hopper;and that, of course, would be objectionable because of. the uselesswear. anditear and current consumption involved.v

The trap 45 is riveted at one end. to an upright arm 54 whichisfulcrumedona pin 56'.carried .by a. bracket 51- secured to the frame ofthe machine, said arm being bent, as shown, to clear the conveyor belt.and other, parts of the. mechanism. A leaf spring, 58 servesto returnthe arm 54. anditrap 4.5; to their normal. positions (Fig. 2) andsuitable stop means are provided to limit the movements of said arm ineither direction.

The conveyor belt runs continuouslywfind it will be clear enough,assuming a filled bag in the hopper, that if the trap is opened atprecisely the right instant the bag will drop into a pocket on theconveyorbelt. But inasmuch as some ofthe pockets mayalready be occupiedwhen they reach the station 22, it is essential to make sure that thetrap will be opened only when an empty pocket is at hand to receive thebag',;and that must be accomplished automatically,

The arm 54 is actuated by means of the rocker member 68, which is shownisometricallyinFig. 5, and in plan view in Figs. 6 and 'l.- This'memheris pivotally mounted on a Z-shaped bracket I52 secured to the frame ofthe machine and carrying anupright pintle 63 which extendsthrough thebore of a sleeve 64 forming an integral part of the rocker member.Welded to thesleeve 64 are two arms 65 and 66, disposed substantially inquadrature, and :the latter includes a bent portion 661: which functionsas a feeler and also as a cam follower, as presently will be made clear.Extending from the free end of the bent portion 66a of the arm 66, andintegral therewith, is a lug 61.

The rocker member 60 is spring-biased-clockwise, as viewed in Figs. 6and '1, by means of a coil spring 68 which bears against the arm 65; andthe bent portion 66a of the arm 66 is adapted to enter each of thepockets, under the impetus of said spring, as said pockets move intoregistration therewith. But if a pocket is occupied by a filled bag, thearm portion 66a will be preventedfrom entering. As the belt movesforward, the blocks successively strike the inclined surface 66b and, inthe manner of cams acting upon cam followers, are effective torotate therocker member counter-clockwise, as clearly illustrated in Fig. '1. Thismovement of the rocker member is effective to move the arm 54 out of itsnormal position (Fig. 2). to the open trap. position of Fig. 3, provideda certain condition precedent obtains, dependent upon the pocket 38(which has just previously passed the rocker member) being unoccupied,.If the pocket in question is already occupied, it obviously would notbe permissible to open the trap and dislodge another bag onto theexisting occupant. Hence, some provision is needed which will precludethe rocker member 68 being effective upon the arm 54 in event of thepocket being occupied. The provision here madeto that end includes avertical bar 10 which is pivotally connected at 1| to the arm 54 andcarried thereby. From inspection of Figs. 4, 6 and '7 it will be seenthat the bar 18is laterally ,offset from the arm 54, and it normally issopostured that the lower end portion thereof (see Fig. 4) is disposedout of the path-of the adjacent end of the 1ug61. The upper end of thebar 18 is frictionally engaged by a 4 leaf spring 12 attached to'the arm54 and-efi'ective yieldably to retain the bar 10 in any posture ofrotation until it is forcibly'rotated to another posture. In order thatthe arm; 54 maybeactuated to open the trap, it. is necessary that the Ibar 16 be so postured that its lower ;end ;-por tionis in the path ofthe lug 61. Were it otherwise, a counter-clockwise rotationiof therocker member 68 would be a nullity. The Hpper gnd portion of the bar 10is slotteduarcuatelyto receive-a pin 13 which is afflxedto1thearm154iand serves to limit the rotation of the bar 18.,in-bothdirections while permitting sumcientrotation thereof to enable its lowerend to be movediinto and out-of the path ofthe lug 61; I; g .z;;il

. 6' ,Thearm 65, forming an integral part of the rocker member .88. isprovided with a contact 15 which is adapted to engage a fixed contact 16when the rocker member is1postured as per Fig. 6; but if there isa bagin the pocket 38 in registration with'the feeler portion of the rockermember,the latter is-thereby'prevented from rotating clockwisesufliciently to close thecontacts 15 and 16. The latter contacts are inseries with the contacts 6| and Stand with the winding of a plungersolenoid '18 the function of which is to rotate the bar 10 from itsnormal full-line posture of Fig. 4 to the posture thereof indicated. indot-dash outline in the same figure, so that its lower end portionstands in the path of the lug 81, thereby pre-conditioning the arm 54for rotationby the rocker member 60. The solenoid 18 has a plunger '19,normally retracted by a spring and provided at its forward end with aflange or head 8| which is positioned to strike the edge of the bar 18near the upper end thereof when the solenoid is energized, therebyrotating said bar so that its lower end portions is moved into the pathof the lug 61.

Now it will be apparent that if there is a bag in the'hoppeiiholding thecontacts 5| and 52 closed, and the pocket 38 engaged by the rockermember'GO is empty so as to bring about a closure of thecontacts 15 and'16, the solenoid 18 will be energized and the bar 18 will,.resultantly, be so postured that when the rocker member issubseqently'rotated counter-clockwise by the succeeding block 28, asdepicted in Fig. 7, the lug 61 will contact the bar 10 and thus rotatethe arm 54 and move the trap 45, carried by said arm, to the openposition (Fig. 3). Thereupon, the bag will drop from the chute 44a intothe empty pocket. If, on the other hand, the pocket 38 is occupied, thecontacts 15, 16 will not close and the solenoid will not be energized.Likewise, if there is no bag in the hopper, the contacts 5|, 52 will beopen and, again, the solenoid will not be energized. Therefore, undereither or. both of the latter conditions the arm 54 will not beactuated.

Following eachopening of the trap, it is necessary to restore the bar 10to its normalposture which is that indicated in full lines in Fig. 4;but it also is necessary to keep the trap open long enough to ensurethat'the bag is completely clear thereof before the arm 54 is allowed toreturn to its normal posture, as per Fig. 2. And those conditions havegiven rise to a problem the solution of which has demanded theexerciseof very considerable ingenuity, as will now be pointed out andexplained. I

A cam plate orWedg BZ has an'oblique surface 82a which is positioned tointercept and engage the protruding edge of the bar 10, and is therebyeffective to rotate said bar back to its normal posture as the arm 54continues to move toward fully open position. But such rotation of thebar 16 displaces it from the path of the lug -61 and would result in thebar 54 being released bar 18 out of the path of the lug 61.

too soon, thereby closing the trap prematurely.

- -In order to avoid that circumstance, there is provided a latch bar 84pivoted at 85 and having a detent 86 which is adapted, by virtue of a.biasing spring 81, to latchingly engage the arm 54 before the bar 10 hasbeen rotated sufficiently to clear the lug 61. Thus, the arm 54 islatched in open posture beyond the time when it otherwise would bereleased by virtue of the rotation of the However, it isnecessary torelease the arm 54 as soon as pos- 75 sible after the baghas been fullydischarged from t n te'se thait'thef trapwi'llibe in casinos tointercept the next" a-g to be "dropped "mm the hogper; v v 'Retractionorthe latc'lr bardfand onsequent releaseor' the arm 54-" isefiectedby'meansvoi a the E8 which is'piv'etally connected 'a/li- 89 the latchbar 8*4-1- and'threaded toreeeive'a mean; The link 98 passes througharnopening in-the arm 5'5 of the relrer member 8d andthe 'nutw is sopositioned thereon thatjwheirthe rockermermber; has assumed the posturein which: it issrshowlm in' Figfl'], thearm ET isba're'ly in contactwiththae rrut 98 i manifestly, a further counter-clockwise rotationoft'h'ereeher member fin will-resmlrt inzthe lini 881- being pu l l'edto the by we 65; aindthatiin turn, will causethel'atch bar fizttoeberetracted sufiicientlyto release the; arm: 542; The further rotation ofsaid rocker member needed teretract the: latch bar is efiectedby atladierall projection on the side of the block Mirandzisso positionedthat it will engage theamm E li. at the rocker member filiiandleausethe-laiiter taberntated ccimter clockwise through. :aismalbadditional an-glejust enough so that the-armlfifi will move thelink 88 to'the right (Figs. 6 and 7) sufficiently to disengage thedetent 86 from the edge of the bar 54. The lateral projection, of whichthere one on each block 28, may conveniently be the head of a round headscrew 34 which, as shown in Fig. 8-, is one of the two screws .by whichthe-block 28 is securedto the plate 32. The other screw, identified bythe numera1 33 (Fig. 8) may have a fiat head and be countresunk into theplate so that it does notproject beyond its surface. 1

It will be self-evident that the arm 31 and the contacts El and 52 couldbe omitted so that the energizing circuit of the solenoid 'I8wouldinclude only the contacts 75 and T6 and a source of current, and thatthe only consequence of so doing would be to cause the trap 45 to openregardless of the presence or absence of a bag in the hopper. The onlyobjection to such an omission is that the arm 54%, together with thetrap, would be" oscillated unnecessarily and without useful purpose.However such unnecessary movements of the aforementioned components isof no major significance, and I do not intend that my invention shall beregarded as limited by the fact that my disclosure includes provisionsfor preventing such unnecessary movements.

It is, of course, essential that only one bag be placed in the hopper atone time; but the operation of the conveyor and feed mechanismordinarily isso fast that the bags can be passed to the hopper asrapidly as they are filled.

Although my improved conveyor and feed mechanism was conceived primarilyas the solu-' tion ofa problem which obtained in the feeding of filledbags to a sealing machine, its potential usefulness" clearly is notlimited to that application, noreven, to the conveying of bags. Thetermbelt, as used in this specification and the appended claims, is tobe construed broadly and includes link-belts or chains as well asleather and fabric belts, such as I have chosen to illus- Y Itis'oibvi'ous that various changes may be made in the specific embodimentset forth for purposes of, illustration Without departing from theprinciples of the invention. Accordingly, the inven- 'ment into saidgiven position.

8 I'claim-f" '1 :I 'In combination; a continuous belt-conveyor havingmeans defining" a series of pockets are: tribut'ed lengthwise of thebelt and movable. therewith, dispensing means lecated adjacent theconveyor and'joperative in response to each actuation torelease a singleunit-to-be-conveyed for'deliveryinto one of'said pockets, mechanismcontrolled bysai'd'conveyor and'responsive to t'he presence or absence6f one otsaidun-its-ih each oneoi" said pockets passing a givenpoint-toactuate said dispensing meanseach time an emptypocketispositiorl'e'd to: receive a uni-t'i rom the dispensing means, the 'first'mentioned means comprising seriesoffb-ioeks attached to the belt and"spaced apa1t lengthwise-thereof; and the conveyor controlled mechanismcomprising a'rocher member which is biased tobea'r against the sides cfsai'dblocks and adapted teen-tier the passing pockets betweensaid-block's, and means actuab'le bysa'id rocker member'topre-conditionsaid dispensing means'for actuaticm said rocker member being elf-entireto actuate said" ere-ennditicning means-onlyupen entering an unoccupiedone of said pockets, said rocker member beme 'eifective upon emergingfroman empty pocket to actuate said dispens'ing means' follbwing a:preconditioning thereof as 'hefbrespeci-fied;

2; combination; a continuous belt conveyor having meansa series ofpockets distributed lengthwise ofthe-bel t and movable therewith;dispensing means located adjacent the conveyor and operative inresponseto each actuation to release asingl unit-tobe conveye'd fordelivery'i'nto one of said pockets, mechanism controllediby saidconveyorand responsive to the presenceor absence of one of sa-i'd units in eachone or said pocketspassing agiven point toactinatesaid dispensing meanseach time an empty pocket is positionedtoreceive a unit from thedispensing means;fthe first" mentioned means QOrriprisi-ng a series ofblocks attached tothebelt and spaced apart lengthwisethereof; theconveyor controlled mechanism com-prising a rocker member which'is'biased to against the sides oifsa-id blocks and adapted to enterthe-passing pockets between said blocks, the dispensing meansincl-riding a fulcrumed arm which is efie'c ti-ve uponbeing moved fromits normal posture toan alternate posture to release a unit-to beconveyed, said arm being actua-ble-by said rocker member when thelatterj in turn, is rotated by one of said blocks; means actua-blebysaid rocker member toprecondition-"said dispensing means for actuatibn;saidrocker member being efiecti ve toactuatefsaitl preconditioningmeansonly upon entering arr unoccupied" one-of said pockets; said rockermembenbeing effective upon emerging from an empty pocket to actuate saiddispensmea-ns following a pre condi tioning thereof asbefore-"specified? and an 'element' carried by said armand engageable bysaid rocker member only when i-n a given position; and a, solenoidforming apart of said pre-cond itiorring means and operable; whenenergihed to move said el'e Irr combinat'i'om a continuous hel-t'conveycr having a series of blocksm-ou'nted on the: belt and movabletherewith and spaced apart-length- -wisefof the bel t to-form a seriesof spaced pockets each of whicl iis adapted; to receive an article forconveyance; dispensing means associated with said conveyor and operativeupon: being actuated to dteprcsitv an article inan: empty one of saidpockets, said dispensing? meansincluding a: first member which ismovable from a normal posture to ari alternate posture to e fiectrelease offian article, and whichis" then returname tolits normalposture, a rocker mem ero erative upon beingrotatedin"a"certain'direction to move said first member from its'normalj posture to 'its alternate f 'po'sture, providedf'said'i firstmen'iber has en conditioned forfi enga'g'ement by :said rocker member,conditioning'me'ans operative to condition said 'firstinember soth'at itisenga'geable by said rocker member, said rocker member having a partwhich contacts said blocks as they pass thereby and which is adapted toenter, successively, all passing pockets which are unoccupied, meansbiasing said rocker member so that it rotates oppositely to said certaindirection each time said part registers with an unoccupied one of saidpockets, thereby causing said part to enter the empty pockets, saidblocks being effective, in passing, to rotate said rocker member in saidcertain direction, said conditioning means being actuable by said rockermember to condition said first member in response to each rotation ofsaid rocker member which is occasioned by said part entering an emptypocket, the arrangement being such that when said part registers with anoccupied pocket it is blocked from entrythereinto by the article in thepocket, said rocker member being consequently prevented from actuatingsaid conditioning means.

4. The combination in accordance with claim 3 wherein said first memberis a fulcrumedarm, and which combination includes a bar pivotallymounted on and carried by said arm, said bar being rotatable between twoalternate postures, in only one of which it is engageable by said rockermember, an electromagnetic means operative, upon energization, to movesaid bar to the posture in which it is engageable by said rocker member,and an energizing circuit for said electromagnetic means, including aswitch which is adapted to be closed by said rocker member when saidpart enters an unoccupied pocket, and means operative to move said barto its alternate posture following de-energization of said electromanetic means and in response to movement of said arm to its alternateposture, said electromagnetic means and said circuit, including saidswitch, constituting said conditioning means.

5. In combination, a continuous belt conveyor having a series of blocksmounted on the belt and movable therewith and spaced apart lengthwise ofthe belt to form a series of spaced pockets each of which is adapted toreceive and support in upright posture a filled bag, bag dispensingmeans disposed above said conveyor and including a trap having a normalposition and an alternate position, said trap being effective in itsnormal position to prevent discharge of a bag from the dispensing means,but not effective so to do when in its alternate position, and mechanismoperative to move said trap to its alternate position to release a bagfrom the dispensing means, said mechanism being operative under controlof the conveyor to release bags from said dispensing means in such timedrelation to the travel of the conveyor belt that the released bags aredeposited in said pockets, individually, said mechanism being furthercontrolled bythe presence of bags in the conveyor pockets so as toprevent the release of bags from the dispensing means except in thoseinstances when there are empty pockets in position to receive them, saidmechanism including a member positioned adjacent the conveyor and whichis biased to 6. The combination accordance with claim 5 whereinsaidmechanism-aincludes a fulcrumed arm ylhich carries said trap at itsdistalend, wherein said member isrot'atable and has first arm whichbears against theblocks and enters the unoccupied pockets and isspring-biased toward said blocks and has a second arm which carries acontact, and wherein said means comprises an electromagnetic device andan energizing circuit therefor including said contact and a secondcontact, said contacts being normallyseparated but adapted to be engagedin response to rotation of said member resulting from said first armentering an unoccupied pocket, said electromagnetic device beingeffective, when energized, to condition said mechanism for operation bysaid member.

7. The combination in accordance with claim 5 wherein said mechanismincludes a rulcrumed arm which carries said trap at its distal end,wherein said member is rotatable and has a first arm which bears againstthe blocks and enters the unoccupied pockets and is springbiased towardsaid blocks and has a second arm which carries a contact, and whereinsaid means comprises an electromagnetic device and an energizing circuittherefor including said contact and a second contact, said contactsbeing normally separated but adapted to be engaged in response torotation of said member resulting from said first arm entering anunoccupied pocket, said electromagnetic device being effective, whenenergized, to condition said mechanism for operation by said member,characterized by the inclusion of a bar pivotally mounted on said armand having two limiting positions in one of which it is engageable bysaid rotatable member whereby to enable said rotatable member to actuatesaid arm and thereby move said trap to its alternate position, saidelectromagnetic device being operative, when energized, to move said barinto position to be engaged by said rotatable member.

8. The combination in accordance with claim 5 wherein the dispensingdevice comprises a normally open switch included in circuit with saidelectromagnetic device, said switch being adapted to close in responseto the presence of a filled bag in the dispensing device, the functionof said switch being to prevent said trap being moved to its alternateposition when there is no filled bag in the dispensing device and readyto be discharged onto the conveyor.

9. In combination, a continuous belt conveyor having a series of blocksmounted on the belt and movable therewith and spaced apart lengthwise ofthe belt to form a series of spaced pockets each of which is adapted toreceive and support in upright posture a filled bag, a bag-dispensingchute disposed above said conveyor and having a discharge opening, atrap normally closing said opening, a fulcrumed arm supporting said trapand movable to open said trap, said arm being movable about its fulcrum,periodically, in response to the movement of said belt whereby to opensaid trap each time a.

pocketis in peefrtion to -receive a bag said chute, latc'lfing meanspperative to retain said am tempqrari ly open-trap pcsition whereby toprevent prematureclosingof the trap, and 5 means opera-hie by th'econveyor "fer (ile-atfi'xgzafiing said latching means whereby to releasesaid arm foliowing the lapse of sufficient time for-a filled baggorma'lly to be fully discharged mm the Number.

UNITED STATES PA'IENTS Name Date Lawrence Dec. 12; 1905 WLghit Jan. 4,1910 Leva'lley June .4, 1912 Bohn b Mar. '1, 1927 Koerner Aug. 7, 1928Meyer Dec. 26, 1933 Newman Mar. 5; 1940 Ea p Aug. 1.4, 1945

